Open Fire
by turtleturtleturtleturtle
Summary: He said he wasn't going to come back, he said he was done with the team. It broke my heart but I moved on. Well, he lied. And now he's really back. Didn't your parents ever teach you not to play with fire, Dick?
1. Chapter 1: Inferno

_**CHAPTER 1: INFERNO**_

"You really miss him don't you?"

The soft sounds of the indoor park made the two young adults' heart beats calm into a steady pace and give the location a sense of peace when it was most needed. A girl sat on the grass, hugging her legs close to her chest, staring at the holographic memorial making her eyes water and tears fall from her cheeks. She didn't bother to wipe them off, they were fresh drops of water, they carried away the deep feelings that bore inside her for years.

Behind her, only a few feet away, her good friend looked at her with somber eyes, not even glancing at the memorial in front of him because he knew that if he did, he would fall to the ground with her. There were brightly colored flowers grown at the feet of the hologram, making the boy's smile lift only a centimeter; he knew that she grew them herself to make the park seem not as grim as it originally was.

"He was my brother, Bart. How could I just not miss him?" The girl whispered and held her legs closer to her as if she was holding on to life itself. Bart clutched his hands into fists and sat down on the floor next to her, his breathing went rugged as he stared at his feet.

He was wearing the exact same suit as the boy was in the hologram, the only difference was their hair. Bart always felt wrong for wearing it, it wasn't his suit yet he only wore it to let the legacy of Kid Flash live on.

Four years later and it still doesn't feel right.

"He's not your brother." He told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort and ease the longing pain in her heart. She closed her eyes, thinking and remembering the memories that felt like they happened do long ago.

"I stopped saying that he was _like_ a brother to me. We may have not been related by blood or marriage or whatever, but he's still my brother no matter what, nothing can change that. Wally will always be my brother by heart, even if he's gone now." She said as she looked at Bart, he noticed her bright auburn eyes were dead inside, they were full and showed no emotion. They were always like that when she remembered Wally, his death affected her so much, it changed her.

"Kai, it's been four years, you need to move on. You come in here everyday expecting Wally to be here or something. Artemis doesn't even come here that often and Wally and her were dating for so long. I know you hate change but it's time to let go."

Kailer sighed, brushed her black hair out of her face and got up. Her eyes gazed upon the memorial once again and stared into the eyes of the dead man that she called brother. Wally's laugh echoed her mind and tugged the strings in her heart as she looked over every edge and crease of his body. She wanted to scream at Bart, she wanted to tell him that Wally was going to come back and was going to retire to his place as Kid Flash.

Bart may have stopped believing but she never did.

Wally was the funny guy, the class clown of the team, anyone who was down or sad, could always depend on him for a smile no matter how bad the situation got. He was such a shameless flirt, hitting on every girl like M'gann or even Black Canary but he never did that to Kai, he would always laugh, mess with her hair, and call her 'Squirt'. She would call him brother and he sister. Kai sharply inhaled the fresh air and aura of the sanctuary and looked to Bart.

"I should go; it's best if we leave this conversation as it was." Bart nodded but kept sitting, signaling that he wanted to be left alone with the memorial, after all Bart was Wally's real relative.

Kai left without saying another word, making sure to check that there weren't any tears in her face before she went out. The frown that was scarred on her mouth was soon replaced with the mask of a smile and dull eyes became lively and ecstatic. It was her usual routine that she did every time she visited Wally's memorial. The location wasn't called a grave since his body was never found and that make Kailan grateful, it gave her hope that her brother was actually alive; somewhere, other there.

The sounds of the cave filled her ears: the loud noise of M'gann's cooking, the grunts of Connor and La'gaan's sparring, and the mixture of Barbara and Cassie's conversation. The sounds soon turned into visuals as she saw all of her teammates doing their typical things, not making much of an effort to notice or greet her.

Kai didn't mind, she liked being left alone; after Wally's death, she haven't been the same. She wasn't that happy and go-lucky girl that she was when she first joined the team; Kai became more mature over time and learned that the gravity of every mission could be deadly. But that didn't mean that she couldn't have fun. After being apart of the Young Justice team for nine years, she found the person of her dreams, the person she looked for and wanted to be with forever.

"Hola hermosa." A deep and raspy voice filled her ear as long and hard arms wrapped and snaked around her small waist. Upon her shoulder, rested the chin of her lover, Kai could feel the muscles of his mouth being forced into a smile. The way he showed his affection always made her giggle and laugh with excitement and love.

"Hey Blue." She said as she turned around to face his eyes, the fake smile that she had on before went away with a sincere grin. Kailer looked into his chocolate brown pupils that made her feel so warm and protected as she pressed a gentle kiss onto his mouth. His lips always tasted like sweet honey that she had become so addicted to over the years.

"How's my little red?" He asked as he ran his fingers through her hair. It was black but gave off the color of red, it made her so beautiful in his eyes.

She was strong even though her body gave off weak standards, no matter how small she was, it never meant that she couldn't defend herself. Especially being the meta-human that she was; he powers had manifested over the years to allow her control over the element of fire. Hence, her superhuman allis name being Blaze.

"Tired as always but probably nothing compared to you, how was your mission? You weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow."

"Well Gar and I were able to find who bombed all those apartments earlier than we thought and besides its been a long week without seeing my baby girl, I missed you." Kai sighed as she hugged Jaime's neck and breathed in his scent, it was like peppermint, always so intoxicating to her. Whenever Jaime and her would sleep together, she could spend hours looking at his face and taking in every detail of him and by morning the sheets and pillows of her bed smelled like him. Jaime was her everything he saved her life on a mission and for that she was forever grateful.

"I missed you too, Jaime."

"Get a room!" Shouted a loud voice behind them, both of the young adults knew who it belonged to without having a second thought of denial. Only a few feet away from them, stood Garfield, grinning from ear to ear like he always did. He was a child at heart and in mind but when push came to shove, he was one of the misted skilled members on the team.

Kai's cheeks turned to a dark shade of scarlet and tried to hide behind Jaime, who was laughing and chuckling at the words of the teasing teenager. Gar laughed along with him softly as his green eyes shined.

"You are such a dweeb, no wonder you don't have a girlfriend yet!" Blue Beetle said to the shape shifting and green skinned super. Kailer giggled and placed a soft kiss on her boyfriend's cheek before she started to walk away to the kitchen.

The voices of the two bickering boys was soon replaced by the sweet smell of M'gann's baking; her chocolate chip cookies were a tradition of the team. To Kai's surprise, she found the kitchen empty and on top of the counter laid a fresh batch of sweets to be eaten.

She picked a cookie up and bit of a small chuck before nibbling and enjoying the flavor. The soft steps of her sneakers filled her ears as she walked over to the large fridge and glanced at the calendar that hanged on it. There was writing in the sloth for tomorrow's date.

 **April 19th: Nightwing's Birthday**

Her heart softly jumped in her chest as she saw the name of her friend. Dick was Nightwing, the leader of the Young Justice but left after Wally's death to go solo. She hadn't seen him since the day he left. Not only was he her best friend growing up on the team but he was also her first love.

Kai crushed on that boy more than anyone could know, and no one knew about her love for him. But sadly, Dick never saw her that way; he went out with plenty of other girls on the team like Barbra. It was Zatanna and his relationship that crushed her the most; they were an on and off couple that were like magnets. Negative to Positive, a counting cycle.

Dick was this smiling, sarcastic little asshole who always had a good comeback and had the most complicated relationship with the English language that she had ever witnessed, it never failed to make her laugh. He was like a pattern to her; he uses his experiences, learns from them, and tries to help others in similar circumstances. He laughs at his enemies, cries with his friends, and cares with his whole heart.

She missed Dick. He was her first love, and you never forget your first love.


	2. Chapter 2: Burning

_**CHAPTER 2: BURNING**_

I woke up with the smell of bacon and pancakes in the air, it filled the entire space of Jaime's room. His arm was wrapped around me and his lips gently grazed the tender flesh on the back of my neck. I could feel every breath that he took in and exhale warmly, leaving a small ticking touch.

I turned and faced him, his eyes were closed as he was fast asleep. Jamie was probably still tired from the mission that he got back from yesterday. A small giggle escaped my lips, I placed a small peck on his lips before I got out of the bed.

Jaime was one of the most sweetest boyfriends I have ever had, no one can really compare to him.

' _Except Dick_.' I thought to myself. I quickly shook the thought away as I pulled out my suit from his closet. All I needed to do now was to forget about Nightwing, he's out of my life now. If he's done with the team, then he's done with me.

I quickly changed out of the shirt that I stole from Jaime last night and into my costume. My hair looked like a complete mess but that's the way I always had it, I never bothered to brush it. Besides, everyone always thought it looked nicer that way.

My eyes glanced at Jamie as he turned his back away from me and faced the wall, that boy could sleep throughout a marching band and not wake up. I chuckled at the thought and covered him with the blankets that he kicked off.

I would always normally sleep with Jaime whenever he was too tired to go back home or if we wanted alone time together. As I walked to the kitchen, I noticed a great commotion and noise coming from the zeta-tubes. I shrugged it off and and pursued the refrigerator, hoping to find something to eat.

"Hey Blaze, do you hear?" I turned around and saw Garfield, he looked pumped and excited about something.

"No, what's going on?"

"Nightwing's back!" He said and went running running back to where all the voices were. At that moment I completely froze from where I was. He cannot come back, he said he wouldn't.

After Wally's death, Dick said he needed a break from the team; he said all he wanted to do was go solo for a bit. He said the pain was getting to him, the team reminded him too much of Wally. That all happened four years ago.

It wasn't until a year later after that, that he said that he wanted to be completely cut off from the team. Dick said he wasn't coming back to team anytime in the future. He lied.

I walked towards the zeta-tubes slowly, hoping that Gar was lying, hoping that maybe this was all some sort of bad dream. Maybe, just maybe, he would go away. He said that the team reminded him of Wally's death; well, he reminds me of his betrayal to Wally.

Dick completely gave up on his best friend, but I didn't give up on my big brother.

"Nightwing, it's good to have you back! It's been forever, I hope you'll stay. We really need our old leader." M'gann said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. I could see a small smile tug on the corners of her lips and extend to her freckles.

Dick looked different, older; he definitely got more muscular. He wore his same Nightwing outfit, complete with his messy black hair and mask. I didn't bother to wear her mask around the team, they already knew who I was. But Dick, he was different. Batman always wanted his identity concealed, even to the team. The only people who knew who Nightwing was Wally and myself. I always thought it was because we three were the bestest of friends. It was always Robin, Kid Flash, and Blaze; the Three Musketeers.

As I walked closer to my past crush, the zeta-tubes started back up.

 _"Zatanna, B-08_  
 _Rocket, B-09"_

The commotion of Nightwing's arrival turned over to the League members. I frowned as I saw Zatanna walking closer and closer to the old Robin, she was up to something, she always was.

"Justice Leaguers in the house! You girls forget to zeta to the Watch Tower?" Mal yelled out.

"What can I say? We're slumming." Rocket said as they walked over to the crowd of superheroes.

"We're not slumming. We're on a mission." Zatanna said to Nightwing.

As she got closer to him, she pressed her lips onto him and stayed there for a few seconds. No, dear friends, that kiss was not a simple peck. This kiss held passion, it was the same passion that I grieved to give to him.

All around the team, members gasped at the sight of the two old ex-couples. To me, it wasn't a shock. They were like magnets, they always returned to each other. They were positive and negative, they only problem that there was is that sometimes, they pulled apart.

And every time that happened, Dick would always come crying to me.

I stayed behind, not wanting to get too close in case he saw me. To say that I've changed in the past four years would be an understatement, I was not the saw person, inside and out.

"Happy Birthday, Boy Wonder." Zatanna whispered to him as she pulled apart and their faces only centimeters away from another kiss.

"Say it backwards." Dick whispered back. I rolled my eyes and left the room, only to bump into Jaime, already armored in his Blue Beetle suit.

"Hey Red, did you hear? Nightwing is back!" He said as he pulled me back into the crowd. "Nightwing! Hey, amigo!" He yelled and waved his arms to get Dick's attention.

Dick turned over to look at us and smiled, he walked closer until we were face to face. This was definitely awkward, talking to my current boyfriend and ex-crush.

"Hey, Blue, how's it going with you? Sorry, I don't believe we've met, I'm Nightwing." Dick said to me as he stuck his hand out for me to shake. I scoffed and looked away.

"Wing, this is Kailer!" Blue said as he placed as small peck on my cheek. Dick face turned from surprised to shocked, I couldn't really blame him, I was completely different.

When Dick was still around, I still had fire red hair; it was always like that because of my meta-human genes but I got tired of it and dyed it black. Whenever I used her powers, it would turn back to red but quickly change back after I cooled down.

My skin got paler after all the time that I spent inside after Wally's death and I was definitely skinnier. I was very chubby four years ago, but I spent more time training now. I now have a flat stomach and more muscles. After Nightwing left, I became the best in combat on the team.

"Kai? Is that you?" Dick said.

"The one and only." I muttered under my breath. I smirked lightly at him and turn around to leave, I simply wasn't up for a conversation with Dick.

-  
 _"Hey, Wonder Boy! Catch me if you can!" I yelled out to him as I jumped off of the building that we were on and to the next. It was just another evening in Gotham City. Car horns and the smell of fresh coffee filled the air. I was fourteen and so was Dick._

 _"I told you! Stop calling me that!" He said as he chased after me and gave off his famous laugh that always made me smile. As I stopped, I looked at him with playful eyes and giggled._

 _I sat down on the ledge of the building to try and catch my breath, while Robin sat next to me. He wasn't even tired or breaking at sweat. A slight breeze flew past us that made me shiver but feel so nice against my burning skin._

 _"I don't get it, you're not even breathing hard. You look like you haven't run two miles with me at all!" I said as I tired my red hair up into a ponytail. He simply shrugged at me and continued to stare at the city lights._

 _"Do you still want to be the Batman when you grow up? I remember you telling me about your talk with Canary." I asked._

 _"I don't know, I mean, it's difficult. Do I really want to spend the rest of my life trying to please him and fighting goons? I want a life, Blaze. I want a family, but I don't think I'm going to give it up so easily. You know the rush that comes when being a superhero, it's like flying. I just wish that I can find a substitute for this life." Robin said as he got up._

 _I smiled at him. Something in my mind clicked that day. That day was the day that I realized that I had fallen head over heels for this boy. Every time he talked, it seemed like poetry to me. The words just flowed out of his mouth. It was always worth listening to him every time he spoke._

 _"That's the thing that's really great about superheroes, they all rise from catastrophe. The Axis of Evil threatening the planet made Wonder Woman rise up._  
 _The Hulk was born out of a radiation spill, and he became the strongest man on the planet. Bruce Wayne's parents were shot down in front of him in cold blood, and he became Batman. Kal-El's world exploded literally and he became Superman. Something to think about when things look their darkest. Another great thing about superheroes? They always save those who need saving."_

 _"You're always thinking about something, aren't you?" I nodded. "Good, always think like that. Just...don't tell Batman that I told you my identity, and thy you figured out who he was too. He'll have my hanging by my thumbs. Promise?"_

 _"Promise."_  
-

"Kai?"

"What?" I said as I looked up from my notebook that I was writing in while I was sitting down at the bar of the kitchen. M'gann was baking food when I sat down; now, she was no where in sight and a cake sat in her place.

Had I really been writing for so long?

I glanced up and saw Bart looking down at me with a smirk plastered on his face.

"What do you want? And if you are asking for money, you might as well shove that question up your ass. I'm broke." I muttered and went back to what I was writing.

"No, what I'm trying to say is that you have work now. It's Friday night, we all always go out to the bar while you work." He said as he pulled my arm and dragged me over to the living room where Jaime, Gar, Barbra, Cassie, M'gann, Connor, Kaldur, and Dick were sitting and talking.

"What are you talking about, Bart?" Nightwing asked.

"Well, little miss Kai here is a singer at the local bar. She's kind of a star and writes all of her own music, we always go and cheer her on in the crowd when she plays. Its been our own little ritual for years now. We like to support our teammate."

"I didn't know you still write music." Dick as he smiled at me. I turned her head and looked away from him.

"There are a lot of things that you don't know about me."


	3. Chapter 3: Smoke

_**CHAPTER 3: SMOKE**_

"So when you said a small bar, I thought you meant what you actually said, you know, as in _small_." Dick said as he gazed upon the large building that we walked into, I chuckled at him and walked in with the team following. Dick struggled to catch up since he was caught in the current of the crowd.

I rolled my eyes at him and let the the waves of people whisk him off, maybe then he could be go for good. Everyone was dressed casually, M'gann had shapeshifted herself into Megan. Connor simply turned his shirt inside out, Cassie wore jeans and a red button down, Barbra wore a simple sundress, and Garfield wore a band shirt and jeans.

"You look beautiful as always, Red." Jaime said as he bend down and placed a gentle kiss on my lips, every time he did that it still sent sparks up my back. I was simply in any usual leather jacket that Wally gave her a few years back as a Christmas present along with a black tank top and jeans.

I glanced back at Dick that now had a slight panicked look on his face, his eyes were covered with sunglasses that people sent strangle looks at. That idiot is so concerned on covering his identity that people are just going to figure it out sooner or later. If he tries harder then there is going to be a slip up.

"You're going to great tonight! I wished Kaldur and Artemis would've come." M'gann said as gave me a slight side hug with a big smile. The red headed Martian grinned back at me, but I felt a tug on my heart. What would Wally be doing now if he was alive?

He'd probably be married by now, graduated from college, maybe even expecting a kid. Or he'd be here, cheering me along with Artemis. He'd say, "Break a leg, K! I mean, not literally. Like the expression, wait no. Ah, never mind little sis, just go up there and sing like its no tomorrow! Wait, no, there is going to be a tomorrow..."

I chuckled at the thought of my silly brother getting confused but simply brushing it off as if it was nothing.

Dick had finally caught up to us, he was smiling charmingly at a girl. She looked about my age and was dressing, well...not how anyone would see myself in a million years. They talking to each other and I knew that Dick would be a bit preoccupied for the night. She was pretty. Tall, black haired, and blue eyes; all the contributing factors that knew turned him on.

The girl was the splitting image of Zatanna.

I shook her head, needed to let go of the first Robin. I needed to let go of Nightwing. I needed to let go of Dick Grayson. Because he was never mine to begin with.

"You're going to do great, Kailer. Don't worry about the stage fright." Jaime said and hugged me from behind. Bart wiggled his eyebrows at me which made me giggle. He always seemed to lighten the mood, he was my rock after Wally died. Jaime was just a teammate to me before the entire thing. But as time went on, we grew closer. I can't remember how it happened, it simply did. To me, it's all just a giant blur that is too sweet to think of.

Yet, when I'm with Dick, I can recall every single moment of when we were kids. Almost as if it only happened yesterday. Sometimes, I still wishes it was the past, maybe then he wouldn't be such an arrogant asshole.

I walked up towards the backstage door and went through, the sound production smiled at me and waved. Once I made it near the stairs of the stage, I was able to pick out the band members that played with me at the bar.

"Hey guys, nervous?" I asked, they shook their heads no and waited paternity.

"So much for social interaction." I mumbled to myself incoherently so they wouldn't be able to make out the words that I said. My hands grasped the acoustic guitar from its stand and strapped it on to my body.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen," I heard loudly through the speakers of the room, that was the cue. "Let me introduce to you, your favorite singer here at Blue Moon bar, Kailer Lyons!"

The crowd cheered and I waved slightly, my ears couldn't ever make out the sounds of my own boots beating against the wooden stage. I smiled down at the team that shuffled themselves towards the front of the crowd and were near me. Jaime gave me a thumbs up. Even Dick was with everyone else, yet sadly, the Zatanna-looking-girl was also near by and looking at the sunglasses wearing man like he was fresh meat.

"How are y'all doing tonight?" I asked the crowd of people though the microphone, letting m Texan twang show a bit. People cheered back, I smiled blinding. The spotlight was probably my least favorite thing about being on stage.

"Well, I'm gonna start us off tonight with something that you can really jam into. Really dig on it, this is called City Lights and I wrote it myself. Enjoy."

I counted in my head and nodded to the band, they started to play. My fingers moved rhythmically on the neck of the guitar as I spoke into the mic.

"We were just kids

taking on the world by its head.

Looking down from buildings,

forgetting about what they said.

But you followed on one road,

and I took the other.

Who would've known that we'd be back,

never meant to be lovers.

So I'll stare into those bright city lights,

just hoping you'll see the same but you lied,

just hoping you see the love in my eyes,

that you never gave back while I stared into those bright city lights."

When I wrote songs, they come from all the feelings that have been built up inside of me over the years. And to my expense, a good number of them were about Dick. Sure, I wrote about Jaime. Hell, I even wrote a few about members on the team. One of the saddest ones, was about Wally.

"You've got a smile,

it faded with wonder and time.

You were my pick me up,

but now you're gone,

and I'm left by myself to hold on and climb."

If someone, anyone on the team, actually picked at each song in my stacks of notebooks, they would probably think that I was crazy. I simply found it so comforting to describe my friends and the situations that we got ourselves into.

The was a bang, a loud continuous banging that woke me up. I groaned and looked up from the pillows. Jaime was fast asleep, I frowned at him and peeled myself from the sheets and thick blankets. I glanced down at myself, no clothes. The banging started again, someone was knocking on the door.

I grabbed at black button down from the floor that belonged to Jaime and my underwear. Whoever woke me up was going to see the side of my fist very soon. I hate being woken up by something, especially the morning after a long concert at the bar. My hands opened the door abruptly and I glared.

Nightwing looked at me with surprise. The he glanced at my clothes, or in fact lack of them, and turned red.

"Um, I- uh. Sorry, I thought this was Blue Beetle's room. I didn't know you moved rooms." He said nervously. I tugged on the end of the shirt that I wore, it reached my upper thigh but thankfully completely covered my bottom.

"No, you're not wrong. He's asleep. Why are you up so early? I would've thought that you'd still be at that black haired girl's house." I rubbed my eyes

Nightwing looked shocked then intrigued, "How did you know that-"

"Please, Dick. I've known you for how many years? It's not that hard to realize that the billionaire playboy's adoptive son turned out to be the exact same way as his father. I know the signs, I've seen them way too many times when we used to hang out and you'd ditch me for some floozy. Now, what do you want?"

"Wait, why are you in Blue's room?" He asked as his rubbed his fingers through his messy raven colored hair.

"Does the wrinkled clothes, bed head hair, and smell of sex not give it away? We've dating, its not illegal for me to have sex and sleep with my boyfriend." I crossed her arms and fumed. The top of my head started started to smoke, just like how it always did whenever I was angry.

"You're dating? When did this happen?!"

"Why do you care?"

"Because you like a little sister to me, I think I should know these things, Kailer!"

"Why!? You haven't talked to me in five years, how can you think of me as you little sister when I was grieving for my friend and you weren't there to help me at all?!"

"Maybe because I was grieving for him too! He was my friend too!"

"Yet you choose to leave. Would that really be what Wally would've wanted, or are you just trying to convince yourself of that?" I said calmly but on the inside, I was fuming. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around. Jaime was there with a look of sorrow. He was dressed in a t-shirt and sport shorts.

A chill ran down my back. If we were able to wake up Jaime, then the whole cave must've heard Nightwing and I yelling at each other. He bent down and kissed my cheek, pushing me back into the bedroom and closing the door behind.

I pressed my ear against the door, "What do you need, amigo?" He said but the sounds were getting muffled, they walked away. I slid down to the floor and wrapped my arms around my knees, sighing into the comfortable position. My back was pushing into the door.

In this moment, I have never hated Dick Grayson more than ever.

To think, I hated him coming back. Now, I planned on making his life a living hell. No one, no one, disrespects Wally in front of me.

Dick Grayson is dead to Kailer Lyons.


	4. Chapter 4: Flame

_**CHAPTER 4: FLAME**_

I looked at my reflection in Jaime's mirror; dressed in my suit, I looked more confident than I ever have. After Dick whisked off my boyfriend, I was left to myself. The silence around the empty room made me uncomfortable to begin with but the longer I stayed, the more my insides started to eat me. So I got dressed.

My uniform was simple, it didn't have a logo which was one of my main conditions when I created it after Dick left the team to be on his own. Logos never made sense to me, I'd rather save the life of a civilian rather than doodle designs in a notebook. I wanted it to be completely different, no spandex was the other condition.

I also wanted it to be free moving and nothing like the other heroes, spandex simply screamed the word 'uncomfortable'.

My suit had long sleeves, though was open for anyone to see my cleavage and stomach, it was maroon. I had on baggy pants that made me feel more free, a small belt of cloth that hung on my hips too and was a shade of grey. It's not really necessary but it finished the complete outfit. The entire outfit screamed tribal to me.

The voices from the hallway was becoming more distinct, people were starting to wake up. Saturday was a slow day around the cave, no villains really went out of their way to cause destruction and mornings simply were spent by training. I could hear La'gaan's laughing, almost as if one cue every morning when people woke up.

I sighed and tried to run my fingers through the mangled and messy bed head but failed as I walked out of the bedroom. My eyes narrowed under the bright fluorescent lights, allowing me to trip slightly because of the lack of food. One thing that Wally and I always had in common was our love for food, he ate like a vacuum while I trailed behind and ate as well.

"Breakfast!" M'gann yelled out to the team, she was the resident mother in the cave. After the cave exploded, the team was invited to work with the Justice League in the Watchtower. We enjoyed it at first, especially Bart and Garfield but it didn't work out. The team couldn't exactly work and compromise with the 'adults'. So we built the cave up again, almost a replica to the original.

"Smells great, M'gann." I said to her as I sat down at the counter and started to divulge into the stack of pancakes, something Megan always made on Saturdays.

The only people that actually lived in the cave on a daily bases was M'gann, Kaldur, Connor, Garfield, Bart, and myself. I moved out from my last home a few years ago.

"Hey, where's Jaime?" Bart said as he sped past me and sat in the next chair over. He was wearing civilian clothes and almost inhaling the food on the plate. I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders.

Gar walked into the kitchen from the command room, "He's training with Nightwing, said something about wanting to testing everyone's potential before he took over the team again."

I choked on my food, "Take over again? Kaldur's team leader, especially since he didn't want the position in the first place. What an asshole."

"What are you talking about, Kai? Nightwing used to be your best friend back when he was Robin. Don't you remember?" M'gann said as she placed another plate down for Bart to eat since the first batch was go so quickly. I sipped from the mug of coffee that was in front of her.

"They argued this morning." Connor butted into the conversation. I frowned at him, not even knowing he was there until he spoke up.

"I just don't think that's fair, besides, Nightwing and I aren't friends anymore. He's just a twat."

Garfield snorted, "And who's gonna lead the team when Kaldur doesn't want to? You? The oh so great Kailer, aka Blaze?"

"Well, I'm better than Nightwing in combat, that's for sure." I chuckled into my cup. Someone cleared their throat behind us but I didn't turn around like everyone else did. I knew who it was. Karma was a bitch but sooner or later, I knew I would have to fight Dick.

I finally looked back, Dick had a prideful smirk on his face, "You think you're better than me. How many times have I kicked your ass back when we were younger?"

"That was four years ago, a lot has changed over time."

"Obviously." He muttered softly.

I got up from the table without finishing my food, the team soon followed behind. Jaime was sitting in the mission room, back pressed against the wall as he tried to regain his breathing. It looked like Nightwing gave him a run for his money but I knew better.

I knew that ever since he moved out of Wayne manor, Dick didn't practice with the Batman anymore, unlike myself who always trained with the Bats and Black Canary. I never stopped, just for this open moment to kick his ass and show him how much better I really am. He always won when we sparred because of his years of being Robin before I even gained my power and got the attention of the League.

Nightwing walked to the center and smirked at me, I simply frowned and rolled my eyes. A feeling in the pit of my stomach started to roll around. My hate for the first Robin was starting to take over. I closed my auburn eyes and breathed in slowly. You an never have your anger take over be fore a battle. It simply blinds you.

"Ready, Kailer?" He asked, throwing his two Escrima sticks to the ground on the outer floor of the practice area.

"Game on." I muttered under my breath and ran to him. Black Canery taught us to always act, never react. Make the first move yours before the opponent can take the battle into their own hands. Sticking my foot at him before Nightwing could understand that the match had started, I kicked him in the chest, directly on his blue symbol.

I bounced off of him and fell back gracefully as he held tightly to his chest. He charged at me quickly, but I dodged by flipping over him and punched forcefully on his back. The masked crusader stumbled forward, falling on his face.

The computer deducted 15 pointes, along with 20 more for my other attacks on him.

I stayed silent and waited for Nightwing to stand back up, the fight was not going to end this soon. I'm only starting to have my fun.

I charged back at him while his mind was still clouded and elbowed him in the face, causing him to fall back down on his back. I did a back flip and straddle his torso, looking down at his masked eye, my hair falling into my face. Nightwing took control and flipped us over so that he was on top now. My cheeks burned at our position, I kneed his in his oh-so-private part, making the dark headed boy to groan.

I shoved him off of me, pressing my knee into his gut, and held my fist back as if I was going to punch him square in the jaw. Instead, my fist lit on fire. I could feel the heat on the side of my cheek. I looked back down at the incapable man, and smirked at him again.

Nightwing groaned, "I thought this was a no powers spar."

"I like to bend the rules." I shrugged and got off of Nightwing.

"Winner, Blaze. Loser, Nightwing." The computer's monotones voice echoed throughout the cave. There was a silent lull until the team broke out into cheers. I smiled and held my hand out for Dick to grab, instead he glared and got up by himself.

"I can do it myself, thanks."

"Obviously." I mimicked, just like how he said to me before we fought. He glared again and walked out of the room.

Everyone walked up to me, they didn't hear the debacle that happened between Nightwing and I only a few seconds, for which I am grateful for. I made a complete fool of him, something that I've always wanted to do. He can't just expect that he's allowed to come back so suddenly with open arms. No, he's getting what he deserves after he deserted me.

Gar patted my back and laughed, "That was amazing, Kai! Nightwing didn't see that coming at all and you were all like 'Ah!' and he was all like 'Ugh!' and you just went all ape shit and went like-"

"Haha, okay, okay. I get it, BB. Thanks for the sound effects, I appreciate it." I laughed and slug my arm over his shoulder.

" _ **Batman 0-2**_ "

We all looked towards to the zeta tubes, the blinding light made me cover my eyes slightly. And out of nowhere came out the dark knight himself, ye old Batsy. To say that Batman showed as much as emotions as The Brain would be an understatement. He barely ever smiled in front of the team, but not as rarely as when he was Bruce Wayne, billionaire philanthropist and playboy. Or in fact as I call him, fuckboy.

The team got silent, knowing that the man behind the cowl didn't assign missions unless it was extremely necessary. All other missions where taken under the order of Aqualad, who wasn't around and spent the day in Atlantis for a break.

Until Kaldur got back, Barbara was second in command. She was not here either.

"Excuse me, team. But I have to speak with Blaze. Privately." He said with force. I froze under my feet and nodded. Jaime walked up to me as everyone filed out and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before leaving as well.

I sighed, "You know, you could try to not sound like drill sergeant sometimes. It kinda freaks me out a bit. After all these years, I'm still not liking the whole black on grey thing. May I suggest some glitter to add a little pizazz?"

He narrowed his eyes at me.

"I thought not," I mumbled. "So, what do you need?"

"Babysitting."

"With all due respect, are you out of your mind?" He continued to stare at me. I folded my arms around my chest. "Seriously? Can't Tim do it?"

Batman growled, "Out of town with Cassie."

"Alfred?"

"On some much needed break time."

"Jason?" I added with a more nervous voice. Batsy lifted one eyebrow, I sighed in defeat.

"Fine, fine. I'll look after the little demon. But he better not tie me to a chair this time, I almost caught the place on fire with my hair cause I was so angry. When do you want me to come over?"

"Tomorrow, five o'clock pm. I'll be gone all night so pack a bag."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I left some clothes behind in my closet. That should suffice enough, unless he's put it through a paper shredder like last time. But I'll go under one condition."

"And what is that?"

"I get to use the Bat Cave's data, I need to do some research."

He paused, "Fine."

"You know, he looks up to you a lot. At least you act more like big sister to him than Barbra does. He told me you're his favorite." Batman said before walking back to the zeta tubes and leaving. I nodded to him.

"I'm not sure if I should find that flattering or offensive if it comes from Damian, but I'll go either way. I'll see you later, Batsy."


	5. Chapter 5: Ashes

_**CHAPTER 5: ASHES**_

In all of my 20 years of living, I knew three things that were always going to be certain.

First, I like fire.

Second, Wally is alive. I don't know where he is or how he got there but he is alive and has a beating heart. I simply have figure it out.

Third, Dick Grayson is a dick.

When I got to the Wayne manor, I pulled into the garage and hopped off of my motorcycle. It was a kind gift from Bruce after my 18th birthday. The thing about coming to the Wayne manor is not that I don't like it here, because after all, the estate is beautiful. But because of the little Satan that crawls inside.

My usual sigh of dismay was the old sound outside besides the normal owls cooing in the night as I unlocked the back door and walked inside. Shockingly, the house was not destroyed. I am thirty minutes late from when Bruce told me he would leave and I'd have to take over the fort. I walked around the familiar hallways, hoping to find Damian around.

I froze, the Bat Cave.

I ran, playing the keys on the piano and opening the secret passageway to the cave. My heart was beating out of my chest when I reached the bottom and saw the 12 year old boy dressed in his own Robin suit and climbing into the Batmobile.

"Oh no, you don't." I threw fireballs over his head to get his attention.

"Step away from the insanely expensive car if you don't want to be fried to a crisp." I said, causing Damian to jump off of the mobile and walk to me, nonchalantly.

"You're late." He said.

"Yeah, I've noticed. And what has Bruce told you about driving?"

Damian walked away from me and walked up the stairs, "I wasn't going to drive. I merely was dressed in my suit and was looking in the car. You have no proof that I was going to ride in it."

I scoffed.

"Besides, like I said, you're late. You are supposed to entertain me while everyone else is gone."

"No, I'm your babysitter. I sit on you if you don't follow the rules. Now, get dressed into your civvies before someone sees you. I'll start making dinner while your at it."

He looked away, but I knew this kid better than anyone. Damian never ever wanted to look weak, he never gave in and always acted like he was better than everyone. It's the way he was raised, but not by Bruce. If Bruce really did raise his own blood son, he would've turned out a bit like Dick. Which, in all honesty, makes me like this version of Damian much better.

"Fine, but I would like pasta."

I rolled my eyes and bowed sarcastically, "Whatever you say, my lord."

I threw my overnight bag onto the sofa as I walked passed the living room, but pulled out my laptop top and took it with me to the kitchen. I am no Alfred at cooking but I knew a few tricks that he's taught me over the years, some which would suffice and essentially quiet Damian from barking at me for a while. I didn't bother to put on an apron as I grabbed a pot and filled it with water, heating up the fire on the stove to its maximum.

The kitchen was one of my favorite places in the manor, not because I liked cooking or anything but because I spent a lot of time in here. Most of the time, I simply talked with Alfred as he cooked dinner. Or I would spend time, sitting on the counter with a hot cup of tea in my hands and watched the rain fall from outside.

But I also spend a good amount of my nights in here wit Dick and a large container of ice cream on those dark days when I couldn't sleep. Wayne manor was my home for a large amount of years, it always will be.

I sighed and shrugged off my leather jacket, leaving me in a dark maroon tank top and black jeans with Chuck Taylors. I booted up my laptop and sat on the island, it instantly connected with the database of the Bat Cave.

"Okay, let the research begin." I cracked my knuckles.

"First, I have to hack into old Batsy's secret files that he's hidden away from the team's computer." I tyed. "Done."

"Next, let's search for something that is actually something I need and cancel out all unnecessary files while I'm at it. Then, I read some secret stuff."

I sat alone with pasta cooking in a pot and Damian upstairs. My old laptop was slow but it was better than nothing, my eyes flickered as I read the files of all the members that counted as 'Speedsters'. I dragged the mouse along every sentence that I read. Batman was hiding something, Wally's so called death happened so suddenly and with no investigation on the League's part. Bruce must've had some questions raising in his mind.

"What are you doing with my father's files?" I gasped and turned around.

"What do you want, little bird?" I said as I closed my laptop and went back to stirring the pasta in the pot. He stood next to me with his eyes narrowed and watching my every move. Batsy has taught him well over the years.

"How many time have I told you not to call me that, peasant?" I frowned.

"How many time have I told you not to call me peasent, dweeb?"

"You are oh-so immature, Kailer Lyons. And I can call you whatever I please, I have the right to. Besides you are in my home, you are disturbing my habitations, I suggest that you are extemetly careful and thoughtful before you speak wearily of me."

"You're 12, dude. Stop talking like you're the duchess of Essex or something." I drained the pasta.

"I suppose so." I counted his steps as he walked out of the kitchen. The more time that Damian left me alone, the more time I could actually research and get closer to finding out something about Wally.

Batsy was hiding something about him, I just know it.

I waved my hand over the fire of the stove, turning it off. The almost ready, then I could run up to my old room and start to actually finding something that could help me with this wild goose chase.

I heard a slightly cough from behind me and I groaned. That boy does not let up, does he?

I started to turn around, "Damian, revenge is below me but be warned, accidents have a tendency to happen around me. So I kindly suggest that you leave me alone before you find yourself with a fireball up your-"

I froze.

"Up Damian's what, may I ask, Kai?" Dick said.

"Nose, I was going to say up his nose, _dick_." I stated more as a word rather than his name. Damian was nowhere to be seen, but I pulled out a plate from the cabinet and set it down on the small table that was near by for him to eat.

"What are you doing here? Bruce told me to babysit." I said angrily

"Well, he also told me to babysit over you."

"I'm perfectly capable, but I guess now that you're here, you can babysit him. I will be up in my room. And here's the thing that I want to be perfectly clear of Dick. I don't like you and I'm not going to pretend to, so fuck off." Dick tired to stop me but I walked away.

The nerve of him! I doubt that Batsy doesn't trust me, Dick must've heard that I was going to be around tonight and wanted to get in my way to tick me off like always. He must still be angry over the whole spar yesterday and how I won against him. I let out a frustrated yell and snarled.

I walked up and down the familiar hallways of Wayne Manor as I tried to cool off in a matter of seconds. My old room was across from Damian's, it still looked untouched from the first time that I left it. The wooden door seemed to be collecting dust from the year but I know Alfred would never leave the place dirty. He always was a clean freak.

I knocked on Damian's door, "Hey, dinner's ready. And Dick was down in the kitchen the last I saw of him so he can entertain you." I said softly to the new Robin.

The door opened, revealing the dark headed boy in front of me.

"Are-are you okay?" He asked.

"Um? Oh, yeah. I'm just peachy. Just go and eat, don't worry about me, little bird." I ruffled his hair and was pretty surprised when he didn't argue but simply started to walk away. I placed my hand on the old rusted door handled of my room.

"By the way, did you go into my room at all?" I asked as he was down the hallway.

He stopped and smiled, "What do you think?"

I chuckled and walked into my room. "I think that you did, but that's fine with me."

I sat down on my old bed and looked around, it was still the same. My posters were still hanging on the wall and half of the room was painted with splatter. I remember when I did that with Dick, we were still young and he was still Robin. It was before all the complications that came with him being Nightwing. But the thought of him being another superhero and leaving behind Robin was starting to begin in his mind.

It was after the first time that he broke up with Zatanna...

 _"Okay, look, I'm tired of you being all mopey about it. You broke up, so what? Do you know what the percentage of teenage relationships actually last?" I said as I walked back and forth in my room while Dick sat on my bed._

 _He shook his head no._

 _"I don't know either, but I fucking bet that it's not good. Dick, it was your first girlfriend, these things aren't meant to last. Think about it, when your in a relationship, you're either gonna break up or marry. Did you really think that you were going to marry Zatanna?"_

 _Dick shook his head yes._

 _"You fucking liar. That's it! We have to get your mind out of the gutter. First, get some water balloons and some paint, then we can have some fun."_

 _I grabbed an oatmeal and raisin cookie off of the platter that Alfred brought up to us to help ease the pain. Dick sat up with a look of confusion on his face._

 _"Why do we need that stuff anyways, Kai?"_

 _"Because, messy always equals fun."_

I chuckled at the thought and opened up my laptop, picking up from where I left off. The brightness from the computer was hurting my eyes but I kept on reading in the darkness of my room with the only light of a small plug in the comer.

There has to be something, anything that will help. Batsy said that being a detective is hard shit, well he didn't say it like that but I got the point either way. No wonder everyone in the Bat family has a way with computers, it's like a requirement if you get adopted by him. Gladly, I guess he lifted that rule for me.

I opened a new file, "The Speed Force is an extra-dimensional energy that once powered all of the Flash's superhuman abilities. The Speed Force is basically a field of energy which exists just outside reality. Speedsters like the Flash can tap into this energy, which makes it possible for them to perform feats of amazing speed."

"If a speedster causes too much energy by running past the speed of light or too slow when another speedster is going fast, he risks losing himself in the field." I gasped.

This is where Wally is, I found it! I have to do something, I have to save him. But I can't, I'm not a speedster. I'm going to have to talk with Bart about this tomorrow, maybe he can tell me something more along the line of this. He is from the future, maybe something is going to happen.

I calmed my heart beat and smiled, Wally is alive and I can prove it. The only question is, why did old Batsy try to hid it?

I changed into my pajamas which was simply a pair of soft black shorts and the tank top that I already was wearing. I slide into the bed and sighed contently, everything is going to change tomorrow for the better.

"Don't worry, Wally. I'll save you, I swear." I whispered to myself.

I closed my eye but a banging soon interrupted me before I could even go to sleep. I sighed and pulled my fingers through my messy black hair.

"What do you want, Dick?" I mumbled as I opened the door.

"I just wanted to make sure that you're okay, I'm sorry too." He said awkwardly, shifting from standing on one foot to the other.

I smirked, "Riddle me this, Wonder Boy. Which is more important to a bird? The left wing or the right wing? Why?"

"What?" He asked.

"Goodnight." I sang softly and chuckled, closing the door on his face.


	6. Chapter 6: Sparks

**_CHAPTER 6: SPARKS_**

"BUT I DON'T WANT TO MOVE!" I yelled out as my dad picked me up and dragged me into the seat of the old mini van, he strapped me in with the seat belt and shut the door behind him. The wet and hot tears ran down my face, making everything around me blurry and almost impossible to see. I hit the armrest of the seat and whimpered loudly enough for my parents to hear me.

My mother frowned at Dad, sighed and looked back at me. The doors were all locked but more than anything I wanted to get out of the moving car. My throat hurt and I couldn't swallow correctly, almost like there was a giant lump.

"Don't worry, Kailer. You'll love Central City, you always say that you've always wanted to meet a real live superhero. Well, this city has the Flash! Remember him? He's your favorite, right?" Dad said as he talked to me through the rear view mirror

I sniffled and calmed down once he started to talk about superheroes, "No, Green Arrow is my favorite. But he lives in Star City along with Black Canary."

"You like her, don't you." He said more as a statement rather than a question.

"I think that they're cute." I sniffled again, my mother chuckled at what I said, causing me to smile. I must've kept her entrained then.

"Who cares about superheroes, its not like you're ever going to meet them. And if you do, you'll probably be dead soon after, they only come when you're about to die." I heard behind me. Axel had his nose in his handheld videogame.

Dad frowned at him, "Axel! Don't scare you're sister. She's too young to be hearing that kind of stuff."

I was 9.

"I'm going to miss my friends, I liked that old comic book store that was near our house. Maybe we can find a new one when we move into our new house."

"Sure, we can go for a walk to find one. Maybe we'll even meet the Flash, I heard they have a museum dedicated to him. Maybe he'll be there, just for you." I smiled widely and looked out the window of the moving car, something I always did. I hoped to see a superhero flying by.

* * *

"Hi, I'm Wally!" I turned around, a boy who looked around three years older than me, was looking over the fence. Mom and Dad said not to talk to strangers so I stood frozen.

I was outside in the backyard, Dad had just finished making my tree house which I insisted on it to be call my Fortress of Solitude, and I was going to look inside for the first time. Maybe I could even see the Flash from how high it was.

He looked at me curiously, "Hey, are you okay? Can you talk? My uncle Barry told me that some people can't even talk or hear. Are you one of them? Wait, he taught me something with my hands, said that it's how some people talk." The red headed boy started to move his hands frantically at me.

I giggled behind my hand, "I think what you mean is sign language. And no, I can talk and hear you fine."

Wally smiled at me and jumped over the fence. He seemed very hyper for a boy that looked around 12 years old and seemed very immature. For Pete's sake, he was talking to a 9 year old! Teenagers never talked to younger kids, at least that what Axel yelled at me once when I wanted to talk to him.

"I'm Kailer." I said.

"That's a weird name." He scratched the back of his red head.

"It's Hawaiian. Just like my dad, and well, half of me. My mom's white." Wally looked up at my treehouse and smiled.

"You just moved here, right? I saw the moving van a few months ago but my mom said that I couldn't see who moved in cause that would be disrespectful, I guess."

I nodded to him, grabbed his hand and showed him my tree house, "Do you like it? I'm calling it my Fortress of Solitude, just like Superman! Though, Green Arrow's always been my favorite. But sometimes, I feel like I like the Flash better ever since I moved here to Central City. Have you seen the museum, its amazing!"

"You know, my Uncle Barry actually knows the Flash. My Aunt Iris too! She works as a reporter and see him all the time, I've met him too."

"Woah! Really?" Wally nodded to me with a proud smile, "That's so cool! Do you think maybe I could meet him one day?"

"One day, maybe."

* * *

"Wally, you'll never guess what!" I knocked on his window after I climbed the fence. I gazed into his bedroom, I could make out all the action figures and posters that he had of the Flash inside but no Wally. He wasn't in there.

I knocked louder until Mary, his mother, came to the window.

"Hi Kailer, sorry, but Wally isn't home. He's with his Uncle Barry." She frowned at me. I started at her bright red hair, it was the same shade as Wally's. I sighed and looked back at my house. We had only been friends for a year now, but we were the bestest of friends. There never was a day when we didn't hang out or at least talk, until now, I guess.

"Again? Okay. Can you tell him that I came by, I wanted to tell him something." I shuffled my feet against the patch of missing grass that was missing from under his window. We always snuck in through each other's windows. Our parents never minded.

Mary smiled sadly at me, "Maybe you can tell me. I know I'm no Wally but I can see that you were very excited about telling him."

"Well, I was going to tell him that I saw Kid Flash today. I was outside at recess and I had my telescope with me, I was sitting on top of the school roof like I always do and looking to see if I could find one of the members of the Justice League. And then, I saw him! He was on top of the building next to us and he was eating a banana."

I giggled, "He was talking to the Flash and I got all excited, then he turned around and waved to me. He waved to me! Almost like he knew that I do that every time I eat at recess."

Mary smiled at me.

"What did he do next?" She asked.

"He ran away, with the Flash. The Flash didn't see me but it was still cool, I can't believe that I saw them. One day, I'm going to meet them too and its going to be even better!"

* * *

"Kai! C'mon, I want you to meet my new friend!" I smiled as I ran into my room and looked out of the window. Wally was standing there with a boy that I've never seen before.

I opened the window and shushed him, "Careful, Wall-man! You might wake up Axel!" I giggled at the nickname I gave him awhile back, He rolled his eyes and backed away from the window, letting me climb out and stand on the grass in the back yard.

Its been two years and the fifteen year old still hanged out with the thirteen year old.

I brushed away the dirt on my pants and smiled at the other boy, "Hi, my name's Kailer. But you can call me Kai, that's what Wally does."

He was around my age, tall but not as tall as Wally, and had black hair like mine. He had the most bluest eyes that I've ever seen. He held out his hand for me to shake which I carefully did. No twelve year old ever acted like him, that's for sure.

"I'm Richard but everyone calls me Dick. Its nice to me you, Kai."

"You too."

Wally smiled, "C'mon, lets stop all the formal stuff. Let's go play some videogames, Dick has the new Batman game, I heard it was banned from Gotham."

"Police didn't like having the Bats being a superhero in a videogame, all they say is that he's a villain."

I was shocked, "But he's saved the life of so many people, of course he's a superhero. He's even started the Justice League, I call fraud!" Wally and Dick exchanged glances.

"She's a huge superhero fan." Wally said to him and pointed to my tree house that I still used. It was painted all black and had 'The Bat Cave' written on the side of it with bright yellow paint. I blushed and jumped the fence over to Wally's yard.

The boys soon followed after, "So Dick, how did you become friends with my adopted brother over here?"

"My dad, well foster dad, I guess, knows his Uncle Barry. I live all the way back in Gotham, they thought it would be cool if we spend some time bonding together." Dick said to me.

"That's cool."

"Hey, have you ever met a superhero?" He said smiling at Wally but I knew he was talking to me.

"No, but I will. At least, that's what Wally has told me."

* * *

I let out a soft whimper as I shook silently in my closet. My parents and Axel were all in the kitchen getting ready for dinner. I was at Wally's house all morning since it was a Saturday but Uncle Barry had to take him to his house so that they could hang out, I guess.

I opened the window to my bedroom and smiled, Wally always was around when I needed him.

But then, everything seemed to move so slowly. I heard a gunshot, at least I think it was a gun shot. It could've just been a firework like the one I hear on Fourth of July. But I heard a scream as well, it was my mom.

And then another gun shot.

And another.

Three shots, three members of my family.

I ran into my closet and hid behind the giant mountain of clothes. My breathing was staggered and heavy. Loud stomping of feet filled my house, I held my breath when they came close to my room. My back was pressing so harshly against the wall of m closet. I just wanted to disappear.

'Think of something, anything! Get your mind off of what's happening out there!' I thought to myself.

Camping. We always went camping in the summer. It was my favorite time, especially went Wally came with my family so I wouldn't have to be alone with Axel all the time. We would always sit next to the fire and tell stories.

I loved the smell of fire wood. The smacking of the flames and the cracking of the sparks, the rustic taste of smoke and the warmth when it was cold at night.

Fire.

I opened my eyes, flames engulfed me.

"KF, get her out of here!"

"What about her family?!"

"Their dead, get her to Batman! I'll get the bodies out!"

"Be careful, Barry!"

I gasped and coughed, looking up at the clear night sky. My eyes burned for some reason, like smoke. A wave of shock overcame me, I looked at the person next to me.

"Kid Flash?" I said with a scrunched face, I couldn't make out any of his features.

"I'm here, Kailer." That voice was so familiar.

"Wally?" He chuckled and held my hand tighter. "I guess you figured it out, I always knew you would, little sis."

I smiled, "You were right, I've finally met a superhero."


	7. Chapter 7: Pyro

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hi, so someone commented on my late chapter asking about how the timeline for my story is so I'd just thought I'd clarify it a bit without giving away too much.**_

 _ **The story starts 4 years after Wally 'dies'. I also used a scene from the comics in chapter 2 of when Zatanna and Dick kissed, which takes place in season 2; I used it because in all honesty I didn't know it was from the official comics. I wrote the first 2 chapters a few months back so I was pretty new to the fandom. I found a screenshot of the comic and thought it was something that it was fanmade and I thought that it was so cute that I just had to mix it in. So just clearing up the confusion a bit.**_

 _ **Also concerning when the Guest said that Dick didn't leave the Team and disappear and how he still continued being a hero.**_

 _ **I know, but Dick said that he wanted a break from the Team and put Barbra as 'second in command' if Kaldur needed help. Dick still continued as Nightwing in Bludhaven but was not affiliated with the Team. In my fan fiction, Dick planned on keeping contact but didn't. At least not with Kailer. He did not return to the Team until 4 years later.**_

 _ **I hope this answers your questions, and please feel free to ask me some more. I'd be more than happy to answer them.**_

* * *

 _ **CHAPTER 7: FLAMES**_

I woke up suddenly in my old bed at Wayne Manor, the sun was barely peaking out the large windows. My eyes darted to the bright neon numbers next to me, the clock read 5 AM. I rarely ever woke up so early but all I remember from my dreams was being engulfed by flames. It was like a kick to the face to wake up.

I groan into my pillow, I always had bad dreams whenever I slept in the Manor, no matter what. Now that I've woken up, I'll never get back to sleep. The bird chirped loudly from outside as I glared at them from under my covers. Fine, I'll get up. My fingers reached out and tried to grab the nightstand so I could pull myself out from the mountain of blankets but instead they grazed upon my laptop.

"Wally." I said with surprise. I have to get to the cave and talk with Bart about the Speed Force, now.

Pulling off the blankets, I ran out of bed and to the bathroom, careful not to trip as I showered like I have so many times before. Brushing my hair would have to wait, I didn't have time to manage my mane. I opened the closet and looked for some clothes, it was cold out and I had no jeans. The ones that I wore last night are all dirty.

I sighed and grabbed a pair of jean shorts along with a black long sleeved shirt and my old Chuck Taylors. This would have to do but as soon as I get home, I am changing into some sweatpants. There was talking outside the room, Dick and Damian must already be up and Tim must've just gotten home with Bruce. Alfred got home late last night. I grabbed my laptop and went down stairs.

My messenger bag was in the living room where I left it when I got to the Wayne Manor, Dami must've looked through it.

"Miss Kailer, I didn't know you had returned, welcome home." Alfred said from the kitchen, I smiled at him and gave him a giant hug.

"I miss you too, Al."

Dick was drinking coffee out of a mug and looking out the window. He was still dressed in his pajamas which wasn't much but soft pants and no shirt. I rolled my eyes at him, that boy had sense of respect, did he?

I poured myself a cup, "Hey, you do realize that people live here? It's not just you, you don't even live here in general. This isn't your apartment, so go and put on a shirt."

"Hm, how about no?" He said sarcastically and went back to looking out the window.

"And why are you here? What happened to your apartment back in Blüdhaven, you know, the city you protect, which isn't in Gotham?"

Dick smirked at me, something that we both were doing often to each other, "Let me ask you this, when did you get all up tight, Granny?"

"Dick, you're older than me by a year." I said seriously.

He shrugged his shoulders at me. I sighed and looked at Damian, he was sitting down eating eggs benedict and reading the newspaper like he always did every morning. I sat down across from him. Ever since I moved out from the Manor, I've realized that I barely ever see Dami if I don't come and visit. He refuses to join the team, mainly saying how he's not much of a team player, something that I agree with. But he even refuses to visit me at the cave, M'gann annoys him to much and Garfield and Bart pressure him too much into joining. So I can see where he's coming from, but it still would be nice to see my little brother more often.

"Any important news?" I asked him from across the table.

He shook his head, "Not really. The paper mostly consists of the usual concerning Batman and I but there's are article about Nightwing and one about you, well, Blaze."

Tim came walking in, looking like he was a dead man walking. The bags under his eyes were a deep purple and his eyes were bloodshot, his hair wasn't even in its usual glory. He said down next to me and put his head down against the table.

I raised an eyebrow, "Hey, Timmy? You alright there, bud?"

"Cassie broke up with me." He said, muttering most of it but I could still make out what he said. I frowned and sighed. Why do I always have to deal with the broken relationships in this house? I swear, the day that Damian walks up to me and asks from relationship advice will be the day I run myself over with the Bat Mobile.

"Was she your first real girlfriend?" I asked the Red Robin.

He nodded.

"Do you know what the percentage of teenage relationships actually last?" I asked him. I could see Dick freeze in the corner of my eye, it was the same question I asked him before with Zatanna.

Tim shook his head no.

"I don't know either, but I fucking bet that it's not good." He chuckled softly, something that I haven't seen him do for a while. "C'mon Timmy, you're either gonna break up or marry the girl. Did you really think that you were going to marry Cassie?"

He nodded.

I laughed out loud, Dick did the same. "You fucking liar!" Tim smiled.

There was a silent lull in the kitchen after we quieted down and the moment passed. Damian finished his breakfast and left to the Bat Cave to train a bit. Tim went back to his bedroom to mope around a bit more but this time with a small smile tugging onto his lips as he left the room. The only people left in the kitchen was Dick and I.

"I better get going, I don't really want to catch the morning traffic. Besides, I have some business to take care of a the cave and the sooner I get there the better." I shrugged on my leather jacket and grabbed my keys.

Dick chuckled, "Its Sunday, Kai. There's is no traffic today."

"Well, all the more reason to get a move on." I said as I walked out of the kitchen and to the front door, Dick was following behind me.

"I don't know why you don't just use the zeta tubes, its faster. The drive from Gotham to Happy Harbor is a long one."

"The fresh air will do me good, either way, I have to make a detour to Central City. I'll see you at the cave, Wonder Boy."

"See you, Kailer."

* * *

I drove for a long time, I don't know how long exactly but all I knew was that I barley ever stopped on my motorcycle. It was almost like muscle memory as I drove from Gotham to my old home, something that I did almost every week once I moved in with the Bat family. I could feel my hot breaths on my chin against the helmet on my head.

I swallowed hard when I pulled up the to the familiar neighborhood, my bike stayed in park as I glanced at where my old house was. It was reconstructed after the fire but looked nothing like before. They tried to make it look more modern to attract buyers.

The sun was shining from above and was creating heat for me, I hated it when it got cool. It always made me feel defenseless, like I have no strength. I pulled off the heavy duty helmet, allowing my messy black locks to fall on my back.

I climbed the fence of the next house over, a smile tugged on my lips as I saw the small patch of grass that was missing from Wally's old window. The window was unlocked like always. Mary knew that I sometimes liked to come and visit his old bedroom, but I always made sure that the West's were gone when I came.

I can't ever look at them the same, it hurt too much.

My fingered tugged on the end of the window, pulling it up and allowing me to climb inside like many time before.

"Oh, Wally." I whispered under my breath, covering my mouth with my hand. The room still smelled like him, I sat down on the old bed. It still had his old Flash covers on it. In fact, all the superhero posters were still up and the shelf filled with action figures was still standing.

I walked to it and grabbed the Kid Flash figure. I had the exact replica in my old room before it all burned down. Wally bought it for me for my 10th birthday, I can't believe that he always dropped little hints of him being a sidekick all the time.

"Don't cry, only weak people cry. You are not weak, it's been four years. Besides, he's not dead. He never was, so suck it up." I mumbled to myself, sharply breathing in air through my teeth.

I opened his closet and saw one of his old t-shirts, it was pastel yellow. It grabbed it and wrapped it around the action figure, stuffing it into my messenger bag.

My eyes stared at the picture frames that was next to his bed. One was of him and Artemis, another was of Wally and his family, the third was of him and Dick. I sneered at it, but a small smile tugged on my lips when I saw the last one.

It was of Wally and I. We were young, about 14 and 11. I was waving outside of the window of my treehouse and Wally was hanging from one of the branches, we were laughing.

I left the bedroom and closed the window behind me. There was a rustling from the wind that echoed through the houses.

My eyes darted back to the neighboring yard, the large tree was gone.

* * *

 _"Wally?" He chuckled and held my hand tighter. "I guess you figured it out, I always knew you would, little sis."_

 _I smiled, "You were right, I've finally met a superhero."_

 _"I guess I'm just that awesome, huh?" Wally said as he ran his fingers through his ash infested red hair. I chuckled, but it hurt. I held my chest with my hand. Parts of my clothes were singed and dark as the night sky._

 _I looked at him, the smile fading from my mouth._

 _"What happened, where are my parents?" I tried to sit up but he pushed me back down to the cool grass. His face was starting to get cleared, my eyes no longer burned when I blinked. Wally's face was covered in dark ash, his gloves had holes. They were burned._

 _I pushed harder and looked at my house, "No!" I screamed out._

 _My body was no longer infested with pain, I looked at my body. There wasn't any burns on me even though my clothes looked like I ran through a forest fire._

 _I got up against Wally's protests, "Kailer, don't go in there!"_

 _But I didn't, I was frozen like a statue. Tears ran down my cheeks, I looked at my hair. It was burning, smoke was coming off of it but there was no fire._

 _"Woah." Wally muttered._

 _I ran and sat down across the yard as far from the fire, pressing my back against the wooden fence that we shared. Wally looked at me with pity. I pressed my face into my hands and cried until I heard other voices._

 _"Status report, Kid Flash?" It was a deep voice, he was near by but obviously talking to Wally._

 _"Batman, I think she's a meta-human. The stress and shock of the fire must've jolted it to cause a chain reaction. I'm guessing she breathed in a lot of smoke but she' not hurt by the fire at all. There are no burns, not even singed hair."_

 _I looked up and saw Wally talking to the Batman. There was a group of teenagers with him, one of them was controlling water and putting out the fire while a girl with green skin looked wearily at it._

 _All I could feel was anger. My parents are gone. My only brother is dead. And he was right, you only meet superheroes when something bad has happened._

 _I had to lose my family to meet them. What a price to pay._

 _I stood up and yell in aguish, feeling heat coming out of my hands. Tears streamed down, smoke covered my eyes as I fell to the ground on my knees._

 _I threw my first fireball that day, directing at the large tree in my backyard and catching the old treehouse on fire._


	8. Chapter 8: Heat

_**CHAPTER 8: HEAT**_

I sighed as I placed the Kid Flash action figure on my bed stand, it stood right next to a picture of Wally and I. It was taken only a few days before he died. My hands traced against the wooden frame, it was made with the surviving wood from the tree from my backyard. Wally's dad made it for me.

 _'All I need to do now is go and talk to Bart, he should be around here somewhere.'_ I thought to myself. My messenger bag was thrown on the bed that I almost never slept in, I changed into my suit and paused. Everything always seems to be going to fast, soon it's going to Monday and I have class. I groaned into my hands.

"What the-" My hands dug through my draw went I saw something flash red from underneath. It was metal.

I picked it out from the bottom and brought it to my face, "Wally's old goggles. He always had a million spares of these, he left these everywhere." Chuckling, I put it around my neck and left it to hang.

Grabbing my laptop, I searched for Bart.

He was next to Jaime on the couch, they were watching sports and eating some freeze dried chips. I frown as I walk in front of the screen.

I point to Bart, "You, come with me."

Bart, being the boy that he was, didn't argue at all and got up. He was probably the only person I talk about Wally most to, I didn't even want to bother Artemis with all my problems. And somehow, I just feel like Jaime wouldn't understand.

I dragged him from the wrist to the underground memorial where all the holograms of the Team's fallen members. There was one for Tula, a girl that I never talked to. Jason was another, even though he wasn't actually dead and now is simply Red Hood. Ted Kord was the last statue there, he was Blue Beetle before Jaime took his spot.

I ran my fingers through my hair and sat down in front of Wally's hologram.

Bart sat next to me, "So, I'm guessing since we're down here that something is not that crash?"

"I know, okay." I shook my head. He froze.

"Look, its not my job to keep a leash on that boy. But seriously, his dick is like a radar, it does not stop and-"

I waved my hands, "Wait, wait. What the hell are you talking about, Bart?"

"What are you talking about?" He raised an eyebrow at me and said cautiously.

"Wally."

He inhaled sharply through his teeth, "You know what, just forget about what I said. What were you going to talk about?"

"Uh, okay them." I opened up my laptop that showed a graph. "The Speed Force."

His face fell, "This isn't any better than the last topic."

"C'mon, I know that you know about it. So you tell me, is Wally in the Speed Force or is he really dead? I need to know the truth before I actually believe and I can't take it anymore if I'm wrong about this, so please?" I asked, almost begging.

"Fine, its real. I-I've never been there, only the Flash has, Barry, I mean. And yeah, Wally is there. The thing is that only another speedster can get him out of it, he can't do it by himself and you can do it either so just get that ridiculous thought out of you head."

I gasped in relief and for the first time in years, I let a tear slip that wasn't from sadness.

"Okay, then you tell me. Do we get him out of there?" I asked the new Kid Flash.

He put his hands up defensively, "Woah, woah. I do not want to feel the mode, can't risk altering the whole time and space thing. Like I always say, it's always better to crash the mode."

"Fine, I'll figure this out on my own. But that just begs another question, if both Batman and the Flash knew about this Speed Force, then why haven't they gotten Wally out sooner? And why are they hiding all of this from us?"

Bart looked uneasy.

"You know the answer to that too. Why?"

His pale green eyes shifted away from my amber ones, "Look, you know that I'm from 2056. And I really sucked at history so-"

"You fucking liar!" I gritted my teeth and pounded my fist on the hard floor, creating a small dent in the dirt. My hands were flaming, heating up, and smoke rising from my head.

Bart sighed, "Sorry, I forgot I shouldn't lie to a pyro. Especially someone as hotheaded as you. Pun intended."

"You shouldn't lie in general." I said, calming down.

"Fine, I'll tell you. Barry and Bruce didn't want to tell anyone about the Speed Force cause its dangerous. The Flash barely made it out the first time, expect what would happen if he went back again to save Wally."

"He could die." I whispered under my breath but Bart was able to hear me.

He nodded, "That's exactly why, Kai. That's why they kept it a secret for so long, they only kept it between themselves."

"I'm the person that finds out about Wally being alive, so who saves him?" I asked, losing my patience in this conversation. The voices from upstairs were still as alive as they were before we came down to the memorial garden.

"I don't know. You see time travel is tricky, the books never discussed any further about Wally. Besides, in my past, I wasn't in the future yet-"

"And then the Reach invasion happen here. So Wally never disappeared in the Speed Force, at least not in your time. But since he stopped it, he got trapped. Which means and starts a new question, how do you know so much about it?"

"It was more of a theory, in my head." He shrugged.

I groaned and dropped my head into my hands, "I hate time travel."

* * *

"Haughty Spirit."

I turned around and saw Dick dressed as Nightwing, his hair was in his usual messy way. The fact that I could almost in vision his ocean blue eyes behind the domino mask that he wore across his face surprised the hell out of me. He smirked slightly, pulling me out of his trance. It was almost like he liked to tease me.

My back was now towards the large computer in the cave, Mal would normally be overseeing it but he was gone. And it was one AM, everyone was asleep. I was dressed in grey sweat pant and a black tank top, my bare feet touched the cold floor, sending shivers up my back.

"Jeez, you scared me." I said, putting my hand to my chest. My eyes casted downwards, staring at the dark gloves that he wore on his hands, it matched the color of his suit.

Over the years, I have come to learn that Dick is very resourceful and determined in whatever he's doing. Which also means that he's very stubborn, a personality trait that we both sadly share. Nightwing leaned against the chair while I took a step back, only to bump into the large computer.

"You were always skittish when we were kids. Almost like you liked being quiet and tried to blend into your surroundings. I remember you were always indecisive, you'd ask me 'Dick, should I get the new Green Arrow toy or the new Flash shoes. I can't decide.' You'd call me randomly during the day because you couldn't choose anything."

"What is this, a trip down memory lane? Besides, I'm not like that." I tied my black hair up into a ponytail and tried to go back into my researching. The files on Kid Flash were opened but I noticed that Nightwing didn't pay any attention to it.

He shook his head, "No, you're not like that now. I've noticed now that you're just impatient. You're very impulsive – not often thinking things through...and adventurous. You seem very calm but the slightest thing can set you off at any moment."

"Yeah, so don't test me, Boy Blunder."

"You didn't even notice what I said before-"

"No, I heard you." I said typing on the computer, barely batting an eyelash at him. "You said Haughty Spirit. So, what about him?"

I knew what Dick was getting at but I wanted to toy with him. My eyes shifted back to him but quickly back to the bright and large screen. He was smirking at me again.

I hate it when he does that, it's like he knows something that I don't .

"He's the guy you quoted, you know 'Which is more important to a bird? The left wing or the right wing'. I say both."

Now it was my turn to smirk at him.

"Why?"

Nightwing shrugged his shoulders, "Because it needs both to live."

Ever since we were kids, Dick was the smarter one. He was a little shit that always teased the hell out of me, the smiling cackle that he always had brought a smile to my lips. He was sarcastic and always had a good comeback . And boy, did he have to most complicated relationship with the English language.

"Wrong. It's neither, a bird doesn't need both wings to live. It only needs them to fly."

"But, tell me this, Kailer. Does a bird need both wings to be happy?" My smirk fell. That boy was always one step ahead of me, and the one time that I tried to be smarter than him, he breaks me down as if it was nothing.

I scratched above my eyebrow and started to gather all my things and putting them into my bag. Nightwing stared at me while staying still and watching from the corner of his eye. Once I turned off al the devices did he look at me.

"I know you, Kai. What's wrong?" He asked as he grabbed my upper arm before I left.

"You don't know anything about me." I spat.

He chuckled, "Oh really?"

I nodded.

"Kailer Beatrice Lyons-"

I stopped him, "That's not what I meant, if you think that reciting facts from my file makes up for then question then I guess you really don't know me."

He didn't let go.

"You get cold very quickly, you can't live a day without coffee, and you still believe in wishing upon stars. Once you gets obsessed with something, you never let go and most of the time you have a positive outlook on things. I know that deep down inside, you would love to get revenge for your family's death even though you deny it. Writing has always been your favorite hobby and you always have been and always will be a child at heart. Now, ask me again if I don't know anything about you?"

I froze and softly gasp.

"I-I have to go." I said, tears burring to fall out.

And this time, he let me go.


End file.
